Cloning and Functional Expression of a Cytochrome P450 cDNA Encoding 2-Hydroxyisoflavanone Synthase Involved in Biosynthesis of the Isoflavonoid Skeleton in Licorice

Isoflavonoids are distributed predominantly in leguminous plants and play critical roles in plant physiology. A cytochrome P450 (P450), 2-hydroxyisoflavanone synthase, is the key enzyme in their biosynthesis. In cultured licorice (Glycyrrhiza echinata L., Fabaceae) cells, the production of both an isoflavonoid-derived phytoalexin (medicarpin) and a retrochalcone (echinatin) is rapidly induced upon elicitation. In this study, we obtained a...